Source: Beckham will join French club PSG

By ROB HARRIS, AP Sports Writer

Thursday, January 31, 2013

LONDON (AP) — After Madrid, Milan and Hollywood, David Beckham is heading to the most fashionable destination of all.

The 37-year-old former England captain has reached a deal with Paris Saint-Germain and will be officially presented at the glamorous French club later Thursday, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the signing hadn’t been officially announced yet, with Beckham undergoing a medical in Paris.

PSG would only confirm that a new a player would be attending a news conference at 1600 GMT on Thursday.

On his Facebook page, Beckham posted a photo of himself with the comment: “On way to Paris, excited. I will update you all later.”

Later, French newspaper Le Parisien posted video footage of Beckham arriving at the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris for his medical.

Beckham had been close to joining the Qatari-owned team last January but rejected a deal worth about $12 million per year to stay with the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer.

Beckham ended his six-year stint in the U.S. last month after winning two MLS Cups, moving back to London with his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria, and their four children.

Now Beckham’s family will be just a short flight or train ride away from the Champs-Elysees.

At PSG, Beckham will be hoping to win a league title in a fourth country, having already enjoyed success in England with Manchester United, Spain with Real Madrid and the U.S. with the Galaxy.

Beckham is looking for one more opportunity to close out his glittering career. Paris seems a perfect fit for a player who has become a global fashion and style icon, known as much for his looks and endorsements as his curling free kicks.

Whether an aging Beckham can still be a force in European football remains an open question.

“I still feel like I have something left in me as a player,” he said recently. “I still feel like I have one more challenge left in me as a player, even at 37 years old. I still feel like I can play at a high level.”

Beckham is being reunited at PSG with coach Carlo Ancelotti and director Leonardo, who were at AC Milan when the midfielder went on loan there from the Galaxy in 2009 and 2010.

“Very happy to see Beckham going to PSG and under Mr. Ancelotti again!” Milan director Umberto Gandini wrote Thursday on Twitter. “Great player and great person, he deserves It. Bonne chance!”

Beckham, who was available on a free transfer, had been mulling over around a dozen offers over the last month from clubs around the world, including Qatar and China.

He opted to join one of the highest-profile teams in world football. Over the past 18 months, PSG’s Qatari owners have spent more than (euro) 260 million (around $350 million) on transfers.

But the unrestricted spending power of Sheik Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, who first invested in PSG in 2011, has yet to pay off in trophies.

With a star-studded squad including striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, defender Thiago Silva and playmaker Javier Pastore, the team is currently ahead of Lyon at the top of the French standings on goal difference.